Metaphorically True: Difference between revisions

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** In general, Kyubey is made of this; he never actually ''lies'', he just withholds any relevant information unless specifically asked about it.
* ''[[Saint Seiya]]'', the reason why Shaka, the Golden Saint of Virgo, followed [[Big Bad]] Saga.
* Everything Ryuk says in ''[[Death Note (Manga)|Death Note]]'' is true. The problem is that he ''never'' gives you the entire context. Like his telling Light not to think a human who's used a Death Note is able to go to Heaven or Hell {{spoiler|actually means there's [[Cessation of Existence|no afterlife for anyone.]]}} Though Light already figured that to be the case on his own.
* Schneizel of ''[[Code Geass]]'' uses this to such great effect, it's scary.
* In the ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!]]'' manga, Honda/Tristan enlists the help of Yugi and Jonouchi/Joey to confess his feelings to a classmate. Yugi helps to write a love letter and Jonouchi slips it into her desk. A [[Sadist Teacher]] discovers the love letter and gleefully humiliates the girl by reading the love letter out loud. When she tells the sender she [[Blatant Lies|will let them off easy]] if he shows himself, both Yugi and Jonouchi stand up, admitting to writing the letter and putting it in the desk respectively. Honda also stands up and says that his feelings were written in that letter. The teacher points out that only one of them could have done it and Jonouchi replies that [[Exact Words|none of them are lying.]]
 
 
== Fanfiction ==
* Kyon, in ''[[Kyon: Big Damn Hero (Fanfic)|Kyon Big Damn Hero]]'', tells a Yakuza that his PDA is custom <ref>Yuki made it from Asakura's junk data remnants</ref>, and says that he got Akasaka's picture because if you do it right, people just look right through you. <ref>He made himself invisible</ref>
** {{spoiler|Achakura}} invokes this in order to get {{spoiler|Nonoko}} to bring Kyon his gear after he [[We Have Forgotten the Phlebotinum|left it behind at home]].
{{quote| '''{{spoiler|Nonoko}}:''' And it's going to [[Jumped At the Call|turn me into a magical girl]]?<br />
'''{{spoiler|Achakura}}:''' For values of 'turning you into a magical girl' equal to 'you having a costume that protects you and operates on principles most people won't understand, and wielding equipment that few on Earth have ever seen, let alone held,' yes, this will turn you into a magical girl! }}
* The dwarven noble [[Guile Hero]] protagonist of [[Dragon Age: theThe Crown of Thorns]] somehow merges this with [[Honesty Is the Best Policy]] and [[Brutal Honesty]] seasonings, at times, even as he pulls of one [[Xanatos Gambit]] after another. Other times, he just refuses to answer questions, like whether or not he killed Trian. {{spoiler|He didn't, and neither did anyone else because that's what the second son wanted, and so it was.}}
 
 
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* In ''[[Rango]]'', [[The Narrator|the leader of the mariachi band]] says that {{spoiler|Rango will die.}} The movie's plot progresses and {{spoiler|he's still alive and well to see the end credits.}} When one of the band members questions the narrator on this, he says that {{spoiler|Rango will still die -- ''someday,'' [[Life Will Kill You|because everyone does]].}}
** Looking at it metaphorically, it's even more applicable. {{spoiler|When he's shamed and had his lies exposed the Rango persona dies ''as a character''; when he comes back to fight, the nameless lizard he was dies and is subsumed by Rango.}}
* Disney's ''[[Aladdin (Disney film)|Aladdin]]'' used this in the direct-to-video conclusion of the series, ''Aladdin and the King of Thieves.'' An oracle tells Aladdin that his father, Cassim, is trapped within the world of the Forty Thieves. Well, he is. It's just that Cassim is not only there voluntarily, but what he's trapped by is his own greed.
* In ''[[Tangled (Disney)|Tangled]]'', Flynn Rider's opening narration includes the phrase "This is the story of how I died." He then hurriedly adds that the audience shouldn't worry because it's actually a very fun story and it isn't really even about him, thus leading you to understand that he's just being metaphorical. {{spoiler|Except he's not. He ''does'' die, in point of fact. He just doesn't stay dead.}}
 
 
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*** Palpatine/Sidious does something similar, but to more sinister intent, when he tells the newly-suited Vader that in his anger he killed Padme. It wasn't Anakin/Vader's force-choke that really killed her, but it ''was'' her shock at Anakin's betrayal that caused her to lose the will to live. So, from a certain point of view, Palpatine was telling the truth.
*** According to the novelization, and as far as Palpatine knows, the damage to her windpipe ''is'' what killed her. The explanation for the whole "lost the will to live" thing is that the robot doctors were built by the alien race that run the base she dies on and just made something up to cover for not actually knowing what they were doing when dealing with a human.
* In [[Agatha Christie (Creator)|Agatha Christie]]'s ''[[Murder Onon the Orient Express]]'', everything {{spoiler|Princess Natalia Dragomiroff}} says to Hercule Poirot. S/he had to lie to throw him off the trail, but Honor dictated s/he couldn't do it outright. So s/he "merely" gave the nearest equivalent answer, like Mr. Whitehead became Mr. Snowpeak.
* ''[[Saw]]''
** In the 1st film, one of the victims says [[Big Bad|the Jigsaw Killer]] is "technically not a murderer" because he never kills anyone directly; he just puts them in situations where death is very likely. The point is really moot, as almost any jurisdiction would consider putting somebody in such a situation to be murder. ''Saw 2'' does at least have the [[Jerkass]] detective hero calls Jigsaw out on this defense: "putting a gun to someone's head and forcing him to pull the trigger is still murder."
** Without the murder charge, his actions usually qualify as assault, kidnapping, and torture, often with lasting damage even for the survivors - possibly a [[Fate Worse Than Death]] in some cases. Several of Jigsaw's disciples actually do commit straight-up murder in their games. But by the 6th movie even the real Jigsaw seems to be having a hard time coming up with new "games" that actually leave his victims with a chance to survive. For example, half his games are of the "decide which one of these people will live or die" variety. Well, if one person is guaranteed to die, then you ''are'' committing murder because your trap is specifically designed to kill people without any hope of escape.
** In the 3rd movie, the victims were all helpless to save themselves and were reliant on the guy who ''had spent years plotting to kill them.'' Whatever happened to that whole 'testing their will to live' thing?
* Used in several of the ''[[Star Trek (Franchise)|Star Trek]]'' films, mostly by Spock. The later instances are call-backs to the first, from ''[[Star Trek II: theThe Wrath of Khan (Film)|Star Trek II the Wrath of Khan]]'':
{{quote| '''Saavik:''' You lied.<br />
'''Spock:''' I exaggerated. }}
** [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] repeatedly in ''[[Star Trek VI: theThe Undiscovered Country (Film)|Star Trek VI the Undiscovered Country]]'', for example:
{{quote| '''Spock:''' Mr. Scott, I understand you are having difficulties with the warp drive? How much time do you require for repair?<br />
'''Scotty:''' There's nothing wrong with the bloody th--<br />
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'''Spock:''' A lie?<br />
''' {{spoiler|Valeris}}:''' ...A ''choice''. }}
** Played with in ''[[Star Trek (Filmfilm)|Star Trek]]'' (2009).
{{quote| '''Spock:''' You lied.<br />
''' {{spoiler|Spock Prime}}:''' I implied. }}
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== [[Literature]] ==
* ''[[Discworld]]'':
** In ''[[Discworld (Literature)/Small Gods|Small Gods]]'', Vorbis explains to Brutha that the claim that the Omnian priest sent to convert the Ephebians was killed by these ungodly savages represents a "deeper truth". According to Vorbis, this is ''much truer'' than the mundane truth, that the Ephebians listened, threw vegetables, then sent him away, and he was killed by the Quisition as an excuse to start a holy war.
** In ''[[Discworld (Literature)/A Hat Full of Sky|A Hat Full of Sky]]'', "never lie, but don't always tell the truth" is among the pieces of advice Miss Tick gives Tiffany.
** ''[[Discworld (Literature)/Monstrous Regiment|Monstrous Regiment]]'': "Upon my oath, I am not a dishonest/violent man.'' {{spoiler|Kind of hard to be a violent or dishonest man when you're actually a woman.}}
** Carrot does this surprisingly frequently when negotiating with hostile characters. However, he has never (as far as anyone can prove) told a direct lie. In fact, he has a tendency to use the truth as a weapon. Both he and his it's-complicated Angua have told someone impeding their progress that unless the person stands down, they'll be forced to carry out the orders they were given regarding resistance, and that they'll regret it terribly if they do, but they won't have any choice. In the circumstances an implied threat is very clear - [[Shame If Something Happened]]. However, the orders on both occasions were "leave the offending party alone, and see if you can find a workaround in this morass." The people they're sort-of threatening never notice
{{quote| "Sergeant Colon was lost in admiration. He'd seen people bluff on a bad hand, but he'd never seen anyone bluff with no cards.}}
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* In Frank Herbert's ''[[Dune]]'' , Baron Harkonnen suborned the Suk doctor Yueh by taking his wife, Wanna, hostage and torturing her. If Yueh betrayed Duke Leto, the Baron promised him that "I'd free her from the agony and permit you to join her." Subverted in that, as the Baron has Yueh killed, the doctor tells him "You think I did not know what I bought for my Wanna." {{spoiler|Yueh uses the opportunity to implant a poison gas pellet in Leto's tooth, which Leto is able to use in an attempt to assassinate the Baron. The Baron barely escapes with his life, while several of his [[Mooks]] aren't so lucky.}}
* The [[John Dickson Carr]] novel ''The Nine Wrong Answers'' has authorial footnotes that use this trope to an almost gleeful extent, to the point that the final one points out that at no time did previous footnotes ''technically'' lie about niceties like {{spoiler|whether a man who was poisoned actually died, and whether a man really was who he was claiming he was.}} (Although some critics maintain that Carr slipped in a few places and really ''did'' make the "incorrect" claims.)
* ''[[Twilight (Literaturenovel)|Twilight]]'' author Stephanie Meyer (in)famously claimed that vampires are unable to reproduce. When Bella later got knocked up, she went back and used [[Weasel Words]] to try and claim she actually meant that only ''female'' vampires can't have kids all along (evidently by claiming an obscure definition of "have").
** If her [[Exact Words]] were "vampires cannot produce children" then she could argue that she simply meant two vampires can't reproduce (which is true). In the same way that you might say a couple with one infertile partner can't have kids.
* Christopher from ''The Lives of Christopher Chant'' is very fond of these, and his friend the Goddess isn't above half truths either.
* Dumbledore from the ''[[Harry Potter]]'' series. In ''Order of the Phoenix'' this is justified, since he fears Voldemort may be able to listen in on Harry's thoughts.
* Schmendrick the Magician in ''[[The Last Unicorn (Literaturenovel)|The Last Unicorn]]''. As the narrator puts it, he's not lying, just arranging events in a more logical way.
* The Druids of the ''Shannara'' books are well known for only telling the heroes they recruit exactly as much as they think the heroes need to know and no more. Allanon, the Druid who started this tradition, justified it with the fact that his father gave a full briefing about the Sword of Shannara to Jerle Shannara, who then failed to properly wield it to defeat the Warlock Lord. The incomplete briefing he gave to Shea 500 years later allowed Shea to win.
** Walker Boh notably averts this trope when her teaches exactly how to use the Sword of Shannara. Possibly this is done, since the family already knows some about it and it is better to have full control than the half-knowledge which tends to fail if doubt exists. But considering he's part of the family that was strung along for over 300 years, maybe he also was tired of it.
*** Still, he didn't tell about the wishsong, or that Grianne's destiny was to succeed him. And he certainly didn't tell Grianne that the Sword of Shannara would work on her so well.
** Also done in the second book of the series, ''Elfstones of Shannara'', in a very sympathetic way. The dying King Eventine Elessidil asks his son about Amberle, his beloved granddaughter, who he has learned has just returned from her quest with Wil Ohmsford to prevent [[The End of the World Asas We Know It]]. His son hesitates, then tells his father, "She's safe. Resting." {{spoiler|While this isn't exactly a lie, she's actually been turned into a ''tree''.}} The old king, relieved, is able to die peacefully.
* In ''[[Forgotten Realms|The Knights of Samular]]'' by Elaine Cunningham [[Knight Templar|Renwick Caradoon]] used such tricks to twist the Abyss out of [[Deal Withwith the Devil|his contract]] with an incubus lord and -- after this bright idea gone bad anyway and he needed help -- fool already suspicious Blackstaff (which may be more impressive).
{{quote| "A prideful wizard, a summoning gone awry," Renwick said, genuine sorrow and regret painting his tones. "But before her death, my niece gave me the means to banish the demon."<br />
Khelben gave him a searching look, and Renwick felt the subtle tug of truth-test magic. It slid off him easily; few spells recognized a lie fashioned by placing two truths next to each other. Let Khelben think Nimra was the prideful wizard who had summoned the demon. }}
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* In Holly Black's Modern Faerie trilogy, pixie Kaye invokes this to fulfull a quest to find a faerie who could lie, which is impossible. She succeeds by claiming SHE can lie. {{spoiler|She can lie...on the ground.}}
* In the ''[[Dragaera]]'' series, [[Anti-Hero]] Vlad Taltos is a mob boss required to testify "under the orb" (that is, under magical lie detection) when a neighboring boss disappears. Among other applications of this trope, Vlad tells the prosecutors "as far as I'm concerned, he committed suicide." {{spoiler|By treating Vlad and his subordinates like he wanted to die.}}
* In ''[[Warrior Cats (Literature)|Warrior Cats]]'', Fireheart and Graystripe are caught coming back onto ThunderClan territory after sneaking away to check on RiverClan (who are suffering because the river is flooded). When asked to explain themselves, they claim that they wanted to see how far the floods went, which was true, but not the whole truth.
* This comes up several times in ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', mostly to do with how the Men of Rohan and Gondor have muddled ideas about Lothlórien and Fangorn from the fact that their legend describe them as 'perilous' and 'dangerous'. As Gandalf explains, both those things are true, but that doesn't make them ''malevolent''.
 
 
== Live Action TV ==
* The [[Planet of Hats|Ferengi]] from the [[Star Trek (Franchise)|Star Trek]] universe have this trope as a point in their "Rules of Acquisition".
{{quote| 126. A lie isn't a lie, it's just the truth seen from a different point of view.}}
* In a ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (TV)|Star Trek Deep Space Nine]]'' episode, Garak was dying because an Obsidian Order anti-torture device in his brain was breaking down, and as Bashir struggled to remove or replace it, Garak gave several wildly varying accounts of the event that had gotten him kicked out of the Order and left on Deep Space Nine. At the end of the episode, Bashir demanded to know which version was true.
{{quote| '''Garak:''' "My dear doctor, they were ''all'' true."<br />
'''Bashir:''' "Even the lies?"<br />
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* The [[Scary Dogmatic Aliens|Minbari]] in ''[[Babylon 5]]'' claim that they never lie, and a mere accusation of doing so warrants "a lethal response". While the humans initially take this at face value, Mollari, having been told otherwise by Lennier, explains that the Minbari are allowed to tell white lies to save someone from embarrassment or [[Holier Than Thou|dishonor]]. Even other Minbari are irritated at the Grey Council following this trope. Kalain says at one point that the Grey Council "never tells you the whole truth."
** A good example of Minbari half truths comes with Delenn early in Season 3. She is shown footage of a Shadow vessel and is asked if she had ever seen a ship like it before. Delenn says no. When she is later questioned about this by Sheridan she replies that whilst she was well aware of what the ship was, that was the first time she had actually seen one.
* In one of the ''[[Lost (TV)|Lost]]'''s [[It Was His Sled|most well-known twists]], John Locke, at the conclusion of his first flashback episode, is revealed to have been a cripple in a wheelchair prior to crashing on the island and miraculously regaining his ability to walk:
{{quote| '''Tour Guide:''' You misrepresented yourself.<br />
'''Locke:''' I never lied.<br />
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*** Similarly, when Jack asks him, "Did you know {{spoiler|Locke killed himself?}}", Ben can honestly answer, "No."
** Sometimes Ben just [[I Lied|straight out lies]].
* [[Russell T. Davies]] has been accused of this during his time in charge of ''[[Doctor Who]]'', particularly with respect to foreshadowing the season finales:
** Series 2 continually said that Rose was going to die, and Rose (narrating) introduces the final two-parter as "the story of how I died". {{spoiler|She doesn't die. She is taken to a parallel world and is presumed dead by the authorities}}.
** In the Series 4 finale, we are repeatedly told "One will still die". {{spoiler|Nobody dies. Donna suffers a metaphorical death, erasing all of her [[Character Development]] and her relevance to the show.}}
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'''Tarrant:''' He hasn’t got any. A bald dwarf shouldn’t be too hard to find. }}
* The original trope name could just has easily been called Vulcan Truth instead of Jedi Truth. Vulcans are [[Sarcasm Mode|always]] honest, except when they're deceiving, misleading, or flat out lying.
** In the [[Star Trek: theThe Original Series (TV)|original series]] episode "The ''Enterprise'' Incident", Spock explains to the Romulan Commander that the Vulcan reputation for being truthful is overblown. They'll lie just like anyone else if they have a <nowiki>[</nowiki>logical<nowiki>]</nowiki> reason to.
** In one early episode of ''[[Star Trek: Voyager (TV)|Star Trek Voyager]]'', Tuvok tells Chakotay that he is always honest, to which Chakotay points out that he wasn't being honest when he pretended to be a Maquis in order to infiltrate Chakotay's ship. Tuvok then counters that he was being honest to his principles and within the defined parameters of his mission. Chakotay recognizes this as a load of crap.
** In another episode, he flat out lies to intimidate a prisoner. Janeway bluffs that she is gonna send the prisoner off to some people she's scammed (the prisoner, not Janeway). She asks Tuvok to tell her about the conditions of that world's prisons, and Tuvok wildly invents a tale of deplorable conditions where most prisoners don't survive long enough to be put on trial. The prisoner knows just enough about Vulcans to believe the story that they never lie, so she caves in.
*** The trick is that in both these cases, Tuvok had a perfectly logical reason to lie. We might reasonably assume that most Vulcans would not lie, for example, to spare a friend's feelings, or get out of a tedious duty, and other species would remember those instances of honesty as unusual, even extreme.
* Deconstructed in [[The Wedding Bride]], a fake movie from [[How I Met Your Mother]] about {{spoiler|Stella's failed relationship with Ted from her ex-boyfriend's perspective, making ''him'' the good guy getting [[The Woobie]] Stella out of a loveless marriage, when in reality, it was nothing like that.}} We see the real reaction of {{spoiler|said guy who was left at the altar, Ted.}}
* In ''[[Farscape (TV)|Farscape]]'', Crichton hits on this trope as a way of fooling the Scarran heat probe, which forces people to tell the truth. For example, while disguised as a Peacekeeper defector, he tries to get access to his captive Sebacean girlfriend by propositioning a Sebacean nurse, and he gets caught by a Scarran:
{{quote| '''Scarran''': Why the deception?<br />
'''Crichton''': Cos -- horny! Looking for a Sebacean woman.<br />
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'''Fox Reporter(Archive footage):''' And now you're down to three? So I realize you spent a lot of money for the campaign...<br />
'''Michael Steele (Archive footage):''' Yeah, we spent a lot of money, but I mean, Greta, you can't look at it in terms of what you begin and what you end.<br />
'''Jon Stewart:''' ''[Bemused]'' "...you can't look at it in terms of where you begin and where-" That is some [[Lampshade Hanging|Jedi bullshit]] right there, Michael Steele. "Yes, Greta; if you want to look at the budget in a linear, arithmetic way where [[Understatement|we started with a high number and ended with a very low number]], but what you're forgetting is children's dreams and [[Everything's Better Withwith Rainbows|rainbows]], you can't put a price on that - is that a ''quarter'' [[What Have We Ear?|behind your ear]]? Wait, a dove, '''[[Smoke Out|SMOKE BOMB]]''', Steele out." }}
* Very well done in ''[[Nikita (TV series)|Nikita]]'', where Alex is hooked up to a brainwave-reading lie detector that can't be fooled. She gets around it by stringing together several statements that are each individually true, but together paint a very different picture than what actually happened, and gets herself free from suspicion.
* Discussed on ''[[The Amazing Race]]'' 19 by Marcus when talking about keeping that he had been a professional football player a secret. Technically, as a tight end, it was his job to protect the quarterback, so it was not lying to say he was in "protection," and as he was retired at that point, if asked if he was a football player, it was technically correct if he said no.
 
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== Theater ==
* ''Othello'': Iago never actually tells a flat-out lie. Instead, he simply plays up everyone else's insecurities, creatively spotlights and phrases certain information, and lets them draw their own conclusions.
* ''[[Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Theatretheatre)|Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street]]'': {{spoiler|Mrs. Lovett: "No, I never lied. Said she took a poison, she did. Never said that she died."}}
 
 
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** In the first game, on the other hand, the only real example of this trope is Jolee's claim that "the Jedi left me" (and he doesn't consider himself a Jedi any more at this point). The other Jedi certainly do tell some outright lies, but don't continue to defend them as 'true' once they're exposed as lies.
** While the [[Jedi Truth]] is an important plot point in the first game, the second game takes it to the point of [[Deconstruction]] with Kreia and the rest of the Council. As the film section reveals, Atton is used as the writer's mouthpiece on that particular topic.
* In ''[[The World Ends With You (Video Game)|The World Ends With You]]'', Uzuki offers Neku a way out of the game if he kills his partner Shiki. However, before Neku can deliver the killing blow, he's stopped by Mr. H, who says that since his life is tied to his partner's, he'll die too...
{{quote| Neku: "All that about letting me out of the game - that was all a lie!"<br />
Uzuki: "Like, that is so rude! I do not lie. If I erased you, that's still letting you out of the Game!" }}
** Unfortunately, there's no similar way to weasel out of her claim that Shiki was a spy for the Reapers. No one calls her on this.
** At one point, Game Master Konishi tells Neku and Beat that she's going to hide in the same place for seven days, while they try to find her. However, she's able to move all over the city, because the "one place" she chose was {{spoiler|Beat's shadow.}}
* In ''[[Umineko no Naku Koro Nini]]'', the [[Language of Truth|Red Truth]] can be twisted in this manner.
* A rare positive version courtesy of ''[[Another CenturysCentury's Episode (Video Game)|Another Centurys Episode]]'': When it was announced that the [[Play Station 3]] installment would be limited to three [[Humongous Mecha|mecha]] per series, fans were upset - until the game's director posted on his blog, revealing that [[Mid-Season Upgrade|Mid-Season Upgrades]] and [[Mecha Expansion Pack|Mecha Expansion Packs]] would fall under the heading of their base machine and therefore only count as one, meaning they can fit in more playables while still maintaining the whole "three per series" idea.
* ''[[Castlevania]] Order of Ecclesia'' has Death's Ring, whose description is "One hit kills instantly." It is indeed true. Take one hit and ''you'' will instantly die.
* Might as well be named "Kirei Truth" after the I-tell-no-direct-lies priest from [[Fate/stay Stay Nightnight]]. Spending 3 routes while only telling one direct lie (which is a joke, and he's instantly called out on it) while still {{spoiler|manipulating the protagonist and turning out to be the [[Big Bad]] in two routes and [[The Dragon]] in a third}}? Yeah, he's very good at this.
* One of [[The Elder Scrolls|Vivec's]] stories of his involvement in the death of Nerevar indicates that the official Temple stance of it not being his fault is a ''literal'' [[Half Truth]]: Vehk the God was not to blame, but Vehk the Mortal is. Since Vivec ("V'vehk") is [[Mind Screw|both of those]]...
* In ''[[Skies of Arcadia]]'', Belleza befriends the protagonists, who take her with them to Temple of Pyrynn to find the Red Moon Crystal. She gains their trust by telling them a sad story about herself: that her father was a sailor who was killed in the Valua-Nasr war, and she was left orphaned. This much is true. {{spoiler|What she did not mention at that point is that her father was a Valuan sailor, not Nasrean, and she is in fact an admiral of the Valuan Armada. Her hatred of war was also not a lie; she believes that Valuan hegemony will bring stability and end war.}}
 
== Webcomics ==
* ''[[The Order of the Stick (Webcomic)|Order of the Stick]]'': After Roy, Haley, Elan and V attempt to escape from the prison, Durkon fools Miko with two examples of this trope back-to-back. One by saying that the '''five''' of them had never left their cells (because Durkon had stayed behind), then claiming that the cell door wasn't secure because of a mechanical defect (if you count "being able to be picked by a rogue" as a mechanical defect.)
** O-Chul pulls one too. When asked by Hinjo if he made the decision to destroy Soon's gate, he answers he did make that decision, and it was his blade that did the deed, and he will say no more lest he [[Never Speak Ill of the Dead|speak ill of the dead]]. {{spoiler|After making said decision, the tide of the battle turned and it was no longer required. Miko ended up with his sword and destroyed the gate anyway - the resulting explosion killed her.}}
** There's a later subversion with the Oracle. Belkar's asked if he would get to cause the death of one of the following: Roy, Miko, Miko's horse, Vaarsuvius or the Oracle himself. The Oracle simply responds [[Mathematician's Answer|"Yes"]] without ever saying which. {{spoiler|On Belkar's return visit, the Oracle claims this prophecy has already been fulfilled. He argues, using [[Insane Troll Logic|increasingly dubious logic]], that Belkar caused the death of Roy, (a ''somewhat'' plausible argument) then also that he indirectly caused Miko's death, (really reaching for that one) and that he killed Miko's horse. (Which is complete BS). Belkar finally loses patience and fulfills the prophecy then and there--by stabbing the Oracle to death. The dying Oracle then reveals that he didn't actually believe any of the stuff he was spouting, he was just trying to weasel out of being stabbed (though fortunately [[Death Is a Slap Onon The Wrist]]).}}
{{quote| Oracle: {{spoiler|Yeah... I wasn't really buying those theories either... Worth a shot though...}}}}
* [http://irregularwebcomic.net/119.html This] ''[[Irregular Webcomic]]'' uses this trope to explain Obi-Wans high opinion of the [[Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy]].
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* [[Darths and Droids|"That's Jedi for "I lied my butt off," isn't it?"]]
** Later used in reference to the original...[http://www.darthsanddroids.net/episodes/0448.html because the DM's opening exposition was what the people believed rather than the truth.]
* Parodied on [http://www.bmoviecomic.com/?cid=429 this page] of ''[[The B -Movie Comic (Webcomic)|The B Movie Comic]]''.
* In ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]'' a pair of [[The Mafiya|Mafiya]] henchmen leave Riff and Torg "free to go." If being tied to railroad tracks fits into your definition of "free."
* Seen in [http://betweenfailures.com/2008/04/01/262-drink-soda/ this exchange] in ''[[Between Failures]]''. Nina thought [http://betweenfailures.com/2008/01/22/212-up-to-here/ Thomas was getting chewed out by their manager], but what he actually got was... [http://betweenfailures.com/2008/02/13/228-prelude-to-a-kiss/ more pleasant].
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* ''[[Robot Chicken]]'' turned it into a [http://video.adultswim.com/robot-chicken/a-certain-point-of-view.html full blown musical] for their Star Wars special.
* As the above Amulet of Eternal Life, Xanatos, from ''[[Gargoyles]]'', discovered a cauldron which allowed a person to live "as long as the mountain stone". [[Genre Savvy|He was smart enough to test it first]]. Yup, Stone.
* In the episode "The Ninja" of ''[[Batman: theThe Animated Series]]'', [[Bruce Wayne Held Hostage|Bruce explains to fellow prisoner Summer]] that they escaped because Batman arrived and took down the bad guy. Hey, his voice changed so it was mostly true...
* Katara's voiceover at the beginning of each episode of ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'' is this, though possibly unintentionally. It's revealed that the four kingdoms were not always at peace before the conquest of the Fire Lords. In fact, 400 years before the time of the story, the Earth Kingdom was in a similar expansionist phase.
** This could be one of the reasons why Sozin wanted to "share Fire Nation prosperity."
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* Politics as a whole can rest on this; for example, take this example of a [http://twitter.com/#!/TomHarrisMP/status/12848387174965249 British MP] claiming that his party had not broken an election promise, as the law would not take effect until after the next election (but was voted on comfortably three years into Parliament).
* There's a free picture that comes on some iPod Touches that says "I didn't slap you, I high-fived your face." Technically true, since in a high-''five'' only one hand needs to be involved.
* A billboard for [[Rebecca Black (Music)|Rebecca Black]] touted that her ''[[Friday (Musicsong)|Friday]]'' video had over 100 million views on [[YouTube]], trying to make it look like she was popular. While the part about the views is true, most of the people who watched it clicked the dislike button.
** Similar thing happened for [[Mass Effect 3]] - the developer claims that its conclusion "has provoked a bigger fan reaction than any other video games' conclusion in history". It's true. They fail to mention, however, that it was a hugely ''negative'' reaction.
* An old, possibly apocryphal story about underage soldiers in the [[American Civil War]] says that when they went to join up, many of them would write "18" on a piece of paper and stick it in their shoe. When the recruiter asked how old they were, they could join without having lied, as they were "over 18."